We Love You Football, We Do

While Morecambe have recently been to Stamford Bridge to play Chelsea in the FA Cup, and moved into a new stadium in 2010, there have been frustrations and protests at the club. The current owners are struggling to finalise a sale, a situation that has lasted two-and-a-half years so far.Profits generated by the club in some recent seasons have since been cancelled out by losses, hi

In this episode, we hear the emotional stories of Bolton Wanderers and Bury, clubs that have both suffered financial problems over the past ten years.Our guests are:Yasmin Qureshi MP for Bolton South,James Frith MP for Bury North,Author and journalist David Conn,Martin Parnell from the Bolton Wanderers Supporters Trust,Mo Dickson, a member of the heritage committee at Bury AFC,and

Just 12 years after playing in the Premier League, Reading are in League One, attendances are falling and the latest financial figures showed a loss of over £17m for the 2021/22 season. The club has had problems paying staff on time in recent seasons, and there have been points deductions, fines and transfer bans. So far, all attempts to buy the club from Dai Yongge have fallen th

The Football Governance Bill is about to be debated in the House of Lords, with speeches to be made and amendments suggested.In this episode, Graham Miller is joined by David Bernstein, the former chairman of Manchester City, the Football Association, and the current chairman of Wembley Stadium Limited, and Fair Game CEO, Niall Couper.The Bill will have huge consequences for all cl

Exactly one week before the 2024 General Election, Fair Game brings together a Question Time-style panel to discuss the future of football:- Clive Betts (Labour), former chair of the all-party Parliamentary Football Group, and member of the Football Supporters' Association.- Paul Athans (Conservative), Everton season ticket holder.- Dominic, Lord Addington (Liberal Democrats), prev

Graham Miller speaks to the former Reading, Newcastle, West Ham and Portsmouth goalkeeper Shaka Hislop.Shaka enjoyed a great career, playing for Kevin Keegan's 'Entertainers', the team that finished second in the Premier League two years running. He also played in memorable play-off and FA Cup finals for Reading and West Ham, and at the World Cup finals for Trinidad & Tobago. H

As the Football Regulator Bill continues its journey through Parliament, we look at the progress so far, the changes that have been made to the original white paper and the contradictions that still need to be addressed.Graham Miller is joined by Fair Game CEO Niall Couper, Bart Huby, the head of Football Analytics at LCP and Nick McGeehan, a co-founder of FairSquare, which investi

While we wait for the Football Governance Bill, we talk to David Bernstein, who was chairman of Manchester City between 1998 and 2003, and then chairman of the FA between 2011 and 2013.David has written a book about his time at Manchester City, 'We Were Really There' will be published on March 11, charting the beginning of the journey from the third tier in English football to wher

The Times Chief Football Writer Henry Winter,  PoliticsHome reporter Tom Scotson and our very own Niall Couper join Graham Miller to discuss the latest on the appointment of football's independent regulator.The realities of the regulator's relationship with the game are starting to take shape and in this episode we cover a lot of ground, discussing the likely shape the re

With the King's Speech expected to announce the implementation of a football regulator, we take a closer look at the Fit And Proper Persons Test and ask how it should be modified to ensure clubs have better ownership.In this episode, Graham Miller talks to Chris Blackhurst, former editor of the Independent and author of The World's Biggest Cash Machine, a book that examines the Gla